Networks and distributed storage allow data and storage space to be shared between devices located anywhere a connection is available. Improvements in capacity and network speeds have enabled a move away from locally attached storage devices and towards centralized storage repositories such as cloud-based data storage. These centralized offerings deliver the promised advantages of security, worldwide accessibility, and data redundancy. To provide these services, storage systems may incorporate Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, Storage Area Network (SAN) devices, and other configurations of storage elements and controllers in order to provide data and manage its flow.
These centralized offerings are often physically located together in a server rack or similar enclosure that utilizes a high density architecture. As storage devices, such as hard drives, have become smaller in size while larger in capacity, new chassis designs have become necessary in order to provide increased hard drive density within a given enclosure. The chassis design has an impact on the way in which air (and/or other gas) circulates throughout to cool the storage devices housed within, as well as how well data is conveyed between storage devices and storage controller(s). Some approaches have sought to mount one storage device in front of another in a drive module. As storage devices continue to shrink in size, however, challenges arise in delivering power and signals to and from the front storage device around the rear storage device without impinging on the airflow between the storage device modules in order to adequately cool the storage devices, the power supply(ies), and input/output module(s).
As storage device sizes continue to decrease and it becomes desirable to include more within a chassis that also takes up less space in an enclosure (such as a server rack), there exists a need for architectures that meet these needs for increased data storage density without sacrificing thermal performance or service accessibility.